August 26, 1996

Hillary Clinton's Hometown Is Staunchly Republican

By DIRK JOHNSON

ARK RIDGE, Ill. -- Nobody here is surprised that a hometown kid
as bright and ambitious as young Hillary Rodham from Wisner Street
would rise to prominence on U.S. political scene.

But as a Democrat? Perish the thought.

In this staunchly Republican suburb of Chicago, where the future
first lady joined Youth for Goldwater as a teen-ager, many people
regard her as something of a prodigal daughter.

"Put it this way," said Peter Nicholson, a 36-year-old lawyer,
with a low chuckle. "There's not a great sense of overjoy here
with Hillary Clinton."

In fact, one resident's suggestion that a portrait of Mrs.
Clinton be hung in the Park Ridge library as a tribute to a local
girl who made good, sparked a fierce debate in the local
newspaper's letters-to-the-editor columns four years ago.

Ron Wietecha, the mayor of Park Ridge, said the letters ran the
gamut: "Everything from 'We love her' to 'She's awful,' and 'How
could a Republican town think of honoring a Democrat?' "

In the end, no portrait was put in the library. But Maine South
High School, from which Mrs. Clinton graduated in 1965, put up some
photographs of her.

It would surely be different if she were a Republican first
lady.

"Are you kidding?" Wietecha said. "There would be a shrine
here for her."

To be sure, plenty of people in Park Ridge speak of Hillary
Clinton with pride and admiration, although far more seem ready to
gush about Elizabeth Dole.

"That Elizabeth Dole -- she was the star of the Republican
convention," said Alice Kuczynski, a 44-year-old real-estate
lawyer. "She's so charming, bright and strong, and without the
harshness."

Prosperous, conservative and uniformly white, Park Ridge would
seem to make an unlikely hometown for a woman regarded as a
champion of liberalism in the United States.

This suburb of 36,000 people is a world away from the rough and
tumble of Chicago, and that is precisely how Park Ridge likes it.

There are no factories, no taverns and no public housing. Before
a property owner can make any architectural changes, the town's
Appearance Committee must approve.

Hillary Rodham lived here in a handsome, two-story brick house
near the country club, the kind of gracious old neighborhood where
couples belong to bridge clubs and go sailing on summer weekends.

"This is not a common-man community," said Penny Pullen, a
high school classmate of Mrs. Clinton, and a former Republican
state representative.

"Living here gave her a sense of belonging to the elite," Miss
Pullen added, not pulling any punches for her old ally in the
Goldwater club. "And her big-government, coercive, utopian
tendencies bear out that she sees herself as an elitist, someone
who knows better than the average people and wants to tell them how
they should be living."

Still, some people in Park Ridge believe that all this
anti-Hillary talk is poppycock.

"They're just jealous," said Mary Jakobik, 45, a fashion
designer, out for a stroll near Mrs. Clinton's childhood home, a
traditional colonial with arching windows and tall shade trees.
"She's smart, she's beautiful and she's living in the White
House."

With the Democrats about to gather in Chicago to renominate
President Clinton, the mayor did invite Mrs. Clinton to a tea in
Park Ridge. The White House declined, however, citing a busy
schedule.

Anita Rifkind is one Republican precinct captain with plenty of
good things to say about Mrs. Clinton, her high school classmate.

"She was always down to earth, easy to talk to, a good
person," said Ms. Rifkind, who described herself as a Colin Powell
Republican. "Everyone knew her as an outstanding young woman. She
was someone who everyone expected to do well. As a person, she has
a very good reputation in town. When it comes to her politics,
well, that's something else."